Mood:
By Johann Sebastian Bach. One of the first classical pieces I'll share. Still feel new to actually sitting down and enjoying classical music. I've played it, and have taken a couple of classes on it, but it's not the same. This one's really popular. It's the 5th movement from the Suite in E Minor for Lute. One of the most famous pieces among guitarists. Bouree was a type of dance that began in France. Jethro Tull did a version of this piece in one of their songs. Paul McCartney was inspired by it for a couple of Beatles' songs. Tenacious D even played it during a couple of their songs. This is nice and calming to me.
It's been really nice and warm most of this week. Like we really are getting a late burst of summer.
It's ranging in the mid 80s. Supposedly, it might reach 91 on Sunday. That's a bit too warm.
Forgot to mention, last Friday I got the newest edition of the North American Post. It's a newspaper that has Japanese-American centered news. First half being in English, and second being in Japanese.
Anyways, they advertised an Aki Matsuri or Fall Festival that's going to happen this weekend. It sounds so awesome!
I'm thinking of going on Sunday, since most of the stuff I want to see will be happening that day. If I could, I'd love to see everything. But, that's impossible.
I'm a bit nervous about going when it might be so hot, but looking at the map they had, it looks like most of it will be inside.
Plus, since it's a college, they'll probably have air conditioning. The only thing that's outside is the food booths. I guess if we were quick and wanted to try something, it'll be ok. Even the flea market's inside. They're going to have a koto ensemble, Japanese folk songs, a yukata show, Taiko groups (lots of them), Tea ceremony demos, Ikebana demos, some Jpop performances, martial arts demos, tons of exhibit booths, workshops on bonsai, lectures, a movie, and more. Sounds like my kind of thing.
Dad sounds a bit excited about it too. Mom might not be able to handle going there. So, I guess it'll just be the 2 of us. That's ok, we can see a ton of stuff, so it doesn't matter. Admission and parking's free! So, yay! Can't wait!
Went to a Hadassah meeting Tuesday night. I actually made something for the potluck!
It was a corn pudding. It had macaroni, velveeta, 2 kinds of canned corn, some grated onion, and butter. Turned out really tasty!
The people who could have it, said they loved it.
They complimented me a lot on other things, too. Felt nice, but a bit weird to me.
Not used to it. I had my hair to one side, and people liked the way it looked. They also said I looked like I lost weight since the last time they saw me. They were interested in my novel. Things like that. This meeting was all about the mahj tournament coming up on the 18th. Ironing out a few more details. Then, after the meeting everybody but me and one other person played mahj. Seems like all they do is mahj lately.
I know it's a good fundraiser, but I don't want it to 'define' our group. Hopefully, it'll die down after the tournament. We do have other interesting events coming up soon, so we'll see.
Went with Mom to the cafe where she plays mahj on Wednesdays. I seem to get quite a lot done while she plays. This time, I got an English toffee apple Italian soda. It was a really good combo, but the barista added way too much syrup. It was incredibly strong. I love when it's strong, but it was overkill.
I had to ask for more seltzer water. Transposed an entire Irish tune while I was there. And, wrote down a list of cheese/egg and side dishes. To help with my list of recipes that I'm organizing in Word.
Also, planned out the Hetalia heritage meme. Decided I'll make them all mochis, and add some sort of symbolic thing tacked to their side. Like a thistle for Scotland, shamrock for Ireland, etc. Big ones will be countries where a large percentage of my family is from. Small mochis for lower percentages. And, they'll all flow into a big America mochi, and then I'll be at the bottom.
Maybe I'll put a little clarinet with some music notes stuck to my side. I think it'll turn out cute, and will be somewhat simple. Interesting to make. Trust me, I will get to actually doing it soon.
Thinking of starting that writing meme soon, too.
QED had kind of an interesting episode. About a mathematician, who became a pirate. He ends up stealing a safe. But, the person he stole it from knew he would. They've known each other for long time. And, he loves her. But, doesn't know how to show it. The only thing that was in the safe was an elephant. There's a reason behind it, so it was a more sentimental 'treasure' for him. He wasn't really a criminal, so it was interesting to throw his story in.
Naruto Shippuden had one of the lamest stories its had in a long time.
It was about Guy and Rock Lee's 'visual training'. The story didn't progress, and it was kind of pointless. I like when it's an interesting side story. There was nothing there, to me. Hopefully, next week they'll do better.
Finally got to playing my clarinet again.
Went over the Irish tunes I transposed. The notes are correct, it just feels like I have to think different for it. For one, there are more sharps in all of those pieces. Another, I'm used to playing them in the other key. They end up being in a higher register. It'll take some practice, but I think I can do it eventually.
Played some of the other Irish tunes as well. Started with playing some Klezmer tunes. I think I'm actually getting better. With all these things. I'm noticing that I'm paying more attention to the notes, I'm not as sloppy, etc. It's nice.
In Ao no Exorcist, it was pretty much similar to the anime when they're attacked by ghouls just after Yukio leaves them for 3 hours during their 'punishment'. Kamiki was acting strange all day, because her friend said she'll quit studying to become an exorcist. She gets in a really heated fight with Bon. For their punishment, everyone in the class has to put Baryons on their laps. Baryons are a type of demon that possesses rocks. The longer you hold it, the heavier it becomes. They're forced to do training camp as well. This is to increase their abilities and to deepen their relationships. The ghouls were just part of a test, and they all passed.
Mood:
Yay! For ice cream sandwiches!One of my faves. What's better than 2 cookies and ice cream sandwiched in between?It's also National Night Out.
It's been nice weather wise the last couple of days. And, supposedly, the rest of the week will be nice too.We finally get a little flash of summer. I'm surprised at how long its been since I last posted. Got to get back into it!
This is this month's wallpaper. This time it's Vocaloid-themed. I don't think I've had this theme yet as my wallpaper.
But, I found a lot of other cool ones. So, look for those in the future!It has Miku at the desk, Len, Rin, Kaito, and Meiko. I feel like this sometimes. Kind of funny, and seems more 'real' than some.
This is my Japanese woodblock calendar for August. One of the most famous ones.Kind of cool. It's Hokusai's Great Wave. It was published sometime between 1830 and 1833. It was the first in his series called '36 views of Mount Fuji'. It depicts a giant wave threatening boats near the prefecture of Kanagawa. My Jewish calendar has a fancy ש or shin for this month.
These are the month-long holidays: American Adventures Month, Celery, Fennel, and Cactus Month, Golf Month, Mushroom and Onion Month (wow, 2 things I don't like...), National Panini Month, Orange and Papaya Month, National Catfish Month, National Peach Month. Some are important causes, some are to make you think and appreciate things you may take for granted, or they're just fun. I'm surprised at the short list this month, though.
Went to a Hadassah meeting last week. It was nice to see people again. Some I haven't seen in months. Mainly, because we haven't had a regular meeting/event in a long time.We mostly discussed our Mahj tournament that's coming soon. I'm not into Mahj, but planning the favors and food appealed to me. So, why not? I tried to give them my opinion on that stuff too.
The food was interesting. Had a really tasty gazpacho, with some croutons, sweet peppers, onions, carrots, and jicama on the side. So you could put what you want in.
If it was warmer out, it would have been even better. The hostess also made some salmon with catalina dressing. Would have been good, but she didn't cook it enough.
There was also crackers, homemade bread, some Asian cashew noodle salad, cole slaw (we brought), and some other things. For dessert, there was cherries, cookies, M&M's, and Werther's candies. Tasty stuff!
I think on last Wednesday, we went Pho T&N. I decided to try something new.I usually get their version of what's essentially yakisoba. It's obviously called something else, though. This time I got their grilled chicken rice noodle bowl. It comes with a salad taking up about a third of the bowl. It was enormous! But, really good.First time I couldn't finish something from there. Made a pretty hefty lunch as well. Next time, I think I'll try their chicken with coconut curry. Sounds tasty.
Started another drama last Thursday called Q.E.D. Shuumei Shuuryou. The QED stands for Quod Erat Demonstrandum. I'm not translating that from the Latin. Shuumei Shuuryou, means completion certificate or proof of completion. It's a very interesting detective/mystery series. The drama's based off of the manga of the same title. Touma Sou graduated from MIT by the age of 15, and for some reason has decided to go through high school. Mizuhara Kana's, a curious girl, and a classmate of Sou's. Her father's a detective. Kana and Sou try to solve mysteries together.
Started another variety show yesterday. The last one had horrible video quality. It has to be pretty bad in order for me to stop watching it.So, I started D no Arashi. Yet another one from the band Arashi. (Arashi just means storm.) The D for this one stands for documentary. It seems even more interesting than the previous 2 I've watched, so maybe I'll keep this one.
Each member goes on a different assignment. A lot like they're reporters. This first episode they had the leader of the group, Ohno, go investigate a forest. Supposedly, it's a place where a lot of suicides happen. And, word was going around that there isn't any cell phone reception in the woods. So, he walked for like 2 hours through it. The whole time he had a pretty strong signal. He saw some medicine wrappers, clothes, a bloody knife, etc. Kind of scary.
He was supposed to go alone, but chickened out, and begged the cameraman. He later finds out that there's a cell phone tower right outside the woods. So, of course it'd be strong. Sakurai went to the bank with someone who won over 10 million yen, to collect it. He was kind of scary, because he would scream out to everyone, and even made him put on a sash, saying that he won the money.
Later, he pulled a prank on the poor man. And, while at his apartment, they tried to 'make it rain' money. I don't think I like him as much.
This is one of their older variety shows, but it seems good so far.
Since Mom wasn't feeling well enough, we didn't go to services on Saturday.
We went to a BBQ that afternoon, though. It was at someone's place, that my dad knows. It was weird. Not sure if I liked it or not.
The host and his family are strange to begin with, but some of their friends seemed even stranger. There was a girl who was into anime, so I assumed we'd get a chance to talk or something. But, she stayed next to her mother, got bored enough to go on her laptop, and eventually started drawing when her mother got upset. She was much younger than me, too. I think she would have had a different attitude towards it, maybe not the best either.Her mom didn't know much about food, and acted strange towards most of it. They had a techy friend show up too. She seemed more normal, and then she stayed longer talking to me than I thought she would. She loved the idea of my novel. Just a tad too much.She also couldn't quite figure out my dad. The food was weird too. Gumbo (which we don't eat), falafel (Usually love it, but tasted nasty), tongue, Israeli couscous with preserved lemon (nasty! Sounds like it would have been awesome), huge pieces of barbecued chicken, lots of chips, potato salad, hot dogs, hamburgers, oysters (another thing we don't eat), and some other things. They had twinkies tiramisu and blueberry bread pudding. Again, not the best, but ok. I feel that when the people and food are weird, I end up talking weird. It just feeds on itself.
On Sunday, met someone on mangafox, who lives in Port Orchard. So cool that he lives so close!
Not only that but he's traveled through Poulsbo quite often. If things go ok, we might meet tomorrow at JJ's. I recommended it. He'll be the first person I met online to meet face to face.We have a ton in common, too.
Went to my psychiatrist's appointment on Friday. I was thinking, that maybe I needed to do something about the dosage, or refill every month. Seemed like it wouldn't be as potent after a month and a half. But, she thinks it's more about stress and my 'monthly friend', than my meds. She thinks eventually the stress piles up, and it feels like I'll explode or break down when my monthly friend shows up.
She said even a healthy person would feel this way with what's going on around me now. She says I need to focus more on my health and helping myself out, before I help others. That way I can be stronger for them. Makes sense, but it's easier said than done.
I have been trying to sleep and walk more. She said those are good steps to prevent that weirdness I get just before my next refill. She also told me that sometimes I might want to take a day just for myself. Kind of to recharge, I guess. I feel like I'm being selfish that way though.
She said if I manage to do this, and I still have issues, we'll talk about dosage. But, I also have a feeling she's right about this.
Also, got a new watch.
Haven't had one in years! Feels funny.
I always had ones with leather straps. This one has metal links. Has an interesting catch in the back too. Took a bit of time to figure it out. But, kind of makes it fun.
Looks more like a fancy bracelet with a bubble in the middle, than a watch. Nice. Sad that it doesn't have indiglo or some sort of light, like my other watch did. But, other than that, it seems good. Even has the date.
I might start posting my story, Alliance, on mangafox. I've seen a couple of other people I know make a thread for theirs. They seem to be very active in that section, too. It might be because the community as a whole's more into writing?Maybe people will actually comment on it. I'm a little nervous that since it's so active, I'll get people telling me it's horrible. But, no one has sad so on other sites. So, we'll see.
Oh, supposedly, Hetalia's going to have another 'extra' episode in mid-September. I really wish it came back with the next season already!
Also, I'm almost done with watching Letter Bee Reverse. It's getting intense. I'll miss this series. The whole series has been longer than I expected it to be. It seems so original, and the story's so interesting. Maybe I'll read the manga, and compare. I don't know.
deviantART faves: Nordic Sweets At the Moment- Making Friends I did not make these! First, this is why I like Hetalia. You can do anything with the fanart. This one is showing the different national sweets from the Nordic countries of Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark. It's creative, and interesting. I like how the artist challenges people to guess the sweets. I don't think I even know all of them. Second, I've felt like this before at the start of semesters at school. Particularly, college. It's so true.
Youtube:
A really amazing amv of various anime. I haven't seen one this amazing since I was last on animemusicvideos.org. That was a looong time ago. It's perfectly timed, and the scenes seem to fit. Even if you're not into anime, I think you can appreciate this:
